High-Quality Video and Photos Reveal What Apple's Plastic iPhone Will Look Like

[vartanarsen]

Steve wouldn't have allowed this.

 

[samac92]

This iPhone is meant to accomplish two things:

- Establish the Lightning connector in the complete lineup of iOS-devices.
(The iPad 2 will be discontinued as soon as the iPad 5 is released, with the iPad 4 probably dropping to the price the iPad 2 has now - the differences in form factor will be large enough to differentiate the iPad 4 and iPad 5, so that people who want the better device will still pickup the newest model).

Apple can't keep selling the iPhone 4S when they are pushing companies to release periphals using Lightning - for Lightning to thrive, Dock Connector has to die!

- Establish the 4" screen in the full lineup of iOS-devices.

Even the cheapest iPod Touch now has the 4" display, so they also want to get rid of the 3.5" one.



These both reasons are universal and they apply to the whole world, not just China or the developing world.


People always thought the iPad Mini would be released as a competitor to the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire tablets, selling for 249 or a maximum of 299$.
But they were wrong.
The iPad Mini wasn't Apples's "cheap tablet" - it was the smaller tablet and it's only an added bonus that it is also a bit more affordable.

The "cheap iPhone" will not be the "cheap iPhone" - it will be the Lightning+4"-display iPhone 4S, it is meant to bringt those features to the price point the iPhone 4S would take this fall - if they wouldn't replace it by the new model.

It is very likely that it will be sold for 450$ or free with a contract, maybe a tiny bit cheaper, but I doubt it will be sold for less than 399$.

It will use the same hardware as the iPod Touch 5, A5 SoC, 4" display etc, with the camera of the iPhone 4S or maybe even 5 (because that one is smaller).

It is a win-win situation:
The new iPhone will be cheaper to manufacture, so Apple will have a higher margin.
Customers will get a much better display and future-proof Lightning port.


The higher margin for Apple is important if you consider the probably higher manufacturing cost of the iPhone 5 (fitting the glass to the aluminium on the back with digital cameras, Scuffgate etc....).

I think we will from now on see the cheaper versions of iPhone models switching to plastic cases in the future, while this year Apple had the necessity to replace the iPhone 4S with a completely new device due to Lightning and display, this will also apply to the iPhone 5, no way they will sell it for 450$ due to the higher manufacturing cost.
It will be cheaper to create a new version using the case of the "cheaper iPhone" in 2014.

Yep. This iPhone will replace the iPhone 4S in the lineup and make lightning and 4 inch screens standard across all iPhones Apple sells. It won't be cheap off contract like some people are thinking.

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Ding ding ding!!!

Even if this phone is free (subsidized) you still need to pay around $100/mo. When you add up the total cost of ownership over a two year period the price differential between a "cheap" phone and an "expensive" one is not that large-- in the end they are both expensive. Until carriers start letting you purchase an iPhone without a data plan, or get it on a pay-as-you go basis, nothing will be really "budget."

The notion that Apple needs to make a cheap iPhone to compete with Samsung doesn't fly. They are all expensive at the end of the day.

That only applies to America where you pay ridiculous prices to carriers.

 

[vartanarsen]

Yep. This iPhone will replace the iPhone 4S in the lineup and make lightning and 4 inch screens standard across all iPhones Apple sells. It won't be cheap off contract like some people are thinking.

Sad day Apple loses that steel design...glad i picked up a 2nd 4 before it goes obsolete....give me a phone as strong as iPhone 4's steel frame...the 5 Aluminum is cheap, and the proposed plastic cheaper.

 

[g88bo]

That only applies to America where you pay ridiculous prices to carriers.

You forget Switzerland... Even the carrier subsidies are ridiculous small. For a 2 year contract (about 103 dollars a month) you still pay 290$ for the 16GB iPhone 5.

 

[doqo]

I still don't really see this budget iPhone. What I've heard from Apple in the last few months is a Tim Cook constantly reminding everyone that Apple is about "making the best product" and not "market share" or "pleasing shareholders". And now this? Either this is just BS or they have a very good reason for this cheap iPhone other than gaining more market share.
In my eyes, and seemingly also in Tim Cook's eyes, Apple makes the best smartphone available: the iPhone. So I'm just wondering what this is supposed to be? I know Apple fortunately lost it's stubbornness with Steve (see iOS 7, iPad mini, tall iPhone, iWork being available on Windows machines), but this doesn't match Apple's product philosophy at all.

What "philosophy"?

 

[trife]

Will purchase for my teenage daughter. No way I'm giving her a phone entirely made of glass (4S) or the newest/latest (5). I've witnessed entirely too many drops by her to do that.

 

[g88bo]

Yep. This iPhone will replace the iPhone 4S in the lineup and make lightning and 4 inch screens standard across all iPhones Apple sells. It won't be cheap off contract like some people are thinking.

Sad day Apple loses that steel design...glad i picked up a 2nd 4 before it goes obsolete....give me a phone as strong as iPhone 4's steel frame...the 5 Aluminum is cheap, and the proposed plastic cheaper.

The could have made the 5-design out of steel and coloured it by bluing it (wiki). it would be a much stronger coating and more resistant to scratches...

 

[chrisrosemusic1]

Serious?
Pro is just part of their branding, it's quite simply what they're using for their higher end products.

Going with your thinking, try and name a mobile phone that's ever been on sale and hasn't been used professionally

Suppose you're right in a way. Never really think of a phone as a professional device, when actually it's slap bang centre of my business use..

I take that back, Sir

 

[doqo]

Steve wouldn't have allowed this.

Steve have allowed iPod mini, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, Mac mini, plastic MacBook, 11'' MacBook Air. why not this one??

 

[chrisrosemusic1]

Yep. This iPhone will replace the iPhone 4S in the lineup and make lightning and 4 inch screens standard across all iPhones Apple sells. It won't be cheap off contract like some people are thinking.

Sad day Apple loses that steel design...glad i picked up a 2nd 4 before it goes obsolete....give me a phone as strong as iPhone 4's steel frame...the 5 Aluminum is cheap, and the proposed plastic cheaper.

I prefer the weight difference over how sturdy it feels though. That 4 feels like a lump by comparison.

 

[SILen(e]

How can a company come right out and say here is our Android version based on the budget iPhone?

Did ape already loose that fight?

Happened with the iPhone 5 before, the Goophone i5 was released before the iPhone 5 was even announced and used the same design.

It's a fight Apple can't win, but the can use harder to implement features like the parallax design of iOS7 (needs a gyroscope, therefore clones will be more expensive) and sue.

 

[Rogifan]

He's made them before.

Image

Yeah and I wonder who did it then too...must have been Steve.

 

[inscrewtable]

This will be an instant success in the vein of the ipad mini and not only lure iPhone contract buyers to buy this outright instead but also capture ipod touch buyers who have a dumbphone as well

 

[Rogifan]

He made a plastic Mac Pro so maybe he's weening himself of aluminum..?

The new MacPro isn't plastic.

 

[falconeight]

Finally a iPhone made to take on android. The original iPhone has been in its own league for far too long.

 

[xraytech]

Hmm...

Where's the slot for the SIM Tray?

 

[Mr.damien]

Can't feel cheaper than that.

At least it will fit with the new look of iOS 7: cheap too.

 

[myrtlebee]

I want this. A throwback to the white 3GS, but with a better design and internals. I love white polycarbonate. Curious to see the price of this thing.

 

[Dferreira87]

When will people realize the iphone will never have a "snapdragon processor", and run andriod. Idiots

No one is suggesting that Apple would do any of that. The company that made this video is working on a Android clone of these 'budget iPhones' with a snapdragon processor.

 

[Takeo]

black bezel + coloured bodies is very cool. I love the white iPhone overall but have never been a fan of the white bezel.

 

[appleisking]

Will purchase for my teenage daughter. No way I'm giving her a phone entirely made of glass (4S) or the newest/latest (5). I've witnessed entirely too many drops by her to do that.

lol sounds like a case is a must with her anyway

 

[chadley_chad]

Love it ... all the iPhone sheep call the Galaxy for using a plastic back; but as soon as Apple use one, it becomes high quality and acceptable!

That aside, it needs to be CHEAP or have some other usp to compete against the mass of other sub £300 phones which can no longer be called cheap or nasty! It looks a nice phone (much better looking than the 5) but with ios7 looking like a blatantly poor copy of Android and Windows, I don't really think it has a hope!

 

[juanmanas]

Steve wouldn't have allowed this.

These comments are becoming pathetic

 

[chadley_chad]

Finally a iPhone made to take on android. The original iPhone has been in its own league for far too long.

How on earth can this take on android - the current crop of android phones (cheap and expensive) are much superior ... and if the iPhone 5 failed to sway people back, how can this (unless it's priced CHEAP!!). The only thing Apple has going for it is it's infrastructure that connects all apple kit together ... clever really because once you are 'connected' to Apple it's just as hard to get out as it was to switch to Apple from PC all those years ago ... Apple did an A1 job at brainwashing people and creating sheep.

I moved from the 4 to a Galaxy S4 and don't regret the move despite owning a lot of other apple kit. Apple went downhill when they ditched the beautiful design of the 3S and white polycarbonate iMac!!!!

 

[nikicampos]

"When we hold the budget iPhone in our hands, the plastic chassis does not feel cheap at all. Unlike the plastic build quality of the Samsung Galaxy phones, the plastic material used on the budget iPhone feels more sturdy."

By equating plastic and budget, Apple is trying to make a statement about Samsung's flagship phones.

Why do people post comments like if this was an Apple announcement, it's a prototype made by some website with the sole purpose to start selling this device but with Android installed, this is an ad that MacRumors got paid for to publish it.